KUCHING: A man was sentenced to one month in prison after failing to pay a RM3,000 fine imposed for smoking at a prohibited area.
According to the statement from State Health Department (JKNS), the accused was brought before the Magistrates’ Court recently, where he pleaded guilty to committing an offence under Section 16(2) of the Control of Smoking Products for Public Health Act 2024, read together with Regulation 3(4) of the Control of Smoking Products for Public Health (Declaration of Prohibited Areas or Places) Regulations 2024.
Magistrate Ling Hui Chuan sentenced the accused to a RM3,000 fine, in default one month’s imprisonment.
However, the accused failed to settle the fine within the period granted by the court, resulting in him being sent to Puncak Borneo Prison to serve the one-month jail term.
The offence involved smoking at a food premises, which is a designated no-smoking area under the Act.
According to the facts of the case, the offence was detected during OPS Akta 852, when authorised officers from the department conducted enforcement at a food premises.
The officers introduced themselves, showed their authority cards and informed the accused that smoking in a prohibited area was an offence under the Control of Smoking Products for Public Health Act 2024.
Following the incident, Environmental Health Assistant Officer Siti Rohayuh Saleh from JKNS opened an investigation paper and conducted further investigations.
The case was later registered at the Magistrates’ Court after the accused failed to pay the compound, with approval to prosecute obtained from the deputy public prosecutor.
The prosecution was handled by Dorothy Alak from the Inspectorate and Legal Section of JKNS.
During the proceedings, the prosecution urged the court to impose an appropriate sentence as a deterrent and to remind the public to comply with the smoking regulations.
The department also stressed that enforcement action would continue to encourage public compliance with laws aimed at protecting public health.
